Canadian Club 100% Rye – “More Than Meets the Rye”

This whisky was released a few years back and was surprising for a couple of reasons. One it’s the first time the Canadian Club brand has released a 100% rye grain whisky. The other reason is that this whisky wasn’t distilled a the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor which is the home of CC.

The whisky actually comes from Alberta Distillers Limited. This might seem strange at first until you look closely and see that Canadian Club is owned by Beam Suntory, while Hiram Walker Distillery is owned by Pernod Ricard/Corby.

I then makes sense that with the success of its own 100% rye brand (Lot 40) that Corby is very close fisted with its rye stocks. Suntory though has it’s own delicious 100% rye juice through ADL, with which it has been supplying the US market with rye for many years.

Banking on a known formula the whisky is aged in virgin oak casks, the first batches were purported to be about 7yrs old. Since then it’s hard to say exactly what the formula is but it’s been met with no small measure of success, the price point is good and it performs well in cocktails.

My girlfriend had an old bottle kicking around for mixing and I had never bothered to try it straight.

Nose: Vanilla, mint. Cedar, rye bread, wet oak and a touch of char. The second wave brings apples, a smidge of pine resin & a floral side, rosewater, Turkish delight?

Palate: Mild arrival, rye bread, lots of sweet oak and orange peel. The development adds brown sugar with a few drops of molasses, black pepper and coriander seeds (steak spice?). The abv shows here as its quite thin bodied, you’ve got to work it around.

Finish: Short, old cigar humidor, whole-wheat raisin bread, the kind with a cinnamon swirl. It’s quickly gone leaving only a trace of lemon pith and bread.

The Blab: All told this isn’t bad actually, if you start a flight with this whisky and let it air put a good 15+ minutes, it performs quite well. That said it’s watered down quite a bit, the virgin oak helps bring some richness otherwise it would be kind of lacking.

If you’ve had whistlepig 10yr old single barrels then you know how good this distillate can be if presented right.

Canadian Club 100% Rye

40% ABV

82/100

Whistlepig – 10 yr old Single Barrel “Goin’ Whole Hog”

Late last year a friend offered to mule a few bottles from South Carolina if I had them shipped to his place in advance, I attempted to select bottles I knew I would be difficult to obtain in Canada.

In the end two of the three bottles he brought back contained whisky distilled in Canada (the other was a Crown Royal hand selected barrel), the other was this bottle Whistlepig store selection, a single barrel at 56.7% abv for Third Base Market & Spirits.

At this point it’s public knowledge that the 10yr old Whistlepig whisky is 100% rye sourced from Alberta Distillers Limited, a powerhouse of a distillery that has over a million sleeping barrels of some of the best rye whisky. Sadly it’s a whisky that we rarely see on our side of the border in anything but it’s adulterated form (cut down to 40% abv or blended in the case of Dark Horse) or sold back to us by US firms under the guises of brands like Masterson’s, Hochstader’s & Whistlepig. This was the first time I was able to get a taste of ADL juice at cask strength (or nearly).

In good company.

Nose: Waxy, rising brioche dough, rye toast and orange peel. It has a floral cologne like note, a bit of sandalwood, there is oak but it’s restrained. There is an almost soapy note but it’s fresh and clean it works well. The payoff with this whisky is to let it air out and then it really opens up, a sweet maple syrup like note with that mineral tang. Fresh and fermented grain, coriander seed and mint finishing on a bit of prune, almost like in Armagnac (perhaps from oak?)

Palate: Dry & sharp, floral & aromatic, there is a slight heat reminded you that this is almost 57% abv. Then it bursts with rye bread, a touch of cumin, apricots, candy apple & butter tarts. Full bodied, earthy and sweet salted caramel & cracked pepper, after the initial tickle there’s very little burn on palate.

Finish: Creamy like eating flan or pannacotta, more oak, earthy sprouted rye and a slight chalkiness, green fresh coriander like feeling.

The Blab: This is a great full bodied dram, more of a winter whisky than a fresh summery one. The bottle is in it’s last third and It’s lost some steam on the nose, it’s a bit closed and lost some of it’s initial peppery-ness and full throttle in your face rye.

That said the palate has bloomed I don’t remember getting as much dried fruits at first. This is really a sipper it takes time to discover and let everything come into play, it has a pleasant mineral waxiness that goes well with the sweetness, no dill notes either… I wish I could get a group together to buy a cask of this stuff.

Whistlepig 10 yr old “Third Base Market & Spirits” store selection

56.7% ABV

88/100